It is every day now. Jihadi attacks in America. Every day. This is the third jihadi attack this week. And what does the media consider the problem? Racistislamophobicantimuslimbigots, of course.

I think it is .... poetic that this Alabama Muslim wanted to call attention to Islam by shooting at police. He is right, of course. Such actions best illustrate the violent and true nature of jihad. He would have been richly rewarded in paradise, perhaps 73 virgins instead of 72. But as Spencer points out, "he did not, however, succeed in gaining the space that is guaranteed in Paradise for those who 'kill and are killed' for Allah (Qur'an 9:111)."

“After the man was taken into custody, he reported that he knew he must do something extreme to draw attention to Islam and himself, so he planned to shoot police officers.”

The funny thing about this story is that he was trying to draw attention to Islam by shooting at policemen, but he failed. He won't draw any attention to Islam at all from the people who should be noting such incidents and devising strategies to prevent them. He succeeded in drawing attention to himself, but as he is prosecuted, the motive he stated for his actions will almost certainly be ignored and downplayed, and even if it isn't, its implications will not be explored.

"Man in custody after shootout with police in Alabama City," by Lisa Rogers for the Gadsden Times, January 9 (thanks to D. C. Watson):

A man thought to be an Islamic extremist is believed to have shot the windows out of at least two businesses in Alabama City early Sunday to lure police officers to the area and engage them in a shootout.

Luis Ibarra-Hernandez, 21, from Albertville, was charged today with attempted murder, according to a news release from the Gadsden Police Department.

“After the man was taken into custody, he reported that he knew he must do something extreme to draw attention to Islam and himself, so he planned to shoot police officers,” Gadsden Police Capt. Regina May said.

Gadsden police officers responded to alarm calls for glass breakage after doors were shot out about 1:30 a.m. Sunday at AutoZone and Rainbow Food Mart near the intersection of 27th Street and West Meighan Boulevard.

While investigating the broken doors and determining they were shot out, officers heard gunfire and spotted a man near the old CVS building.

The man knew he had been seen and ran toward the Cathedral of Praise Church parking lot, then started firing rounds at the officers.

The man continued to run through several blocks and at one point was in the Dwight Baptist Church parking lot. Shots were fired over about six blocks, and at least eight officers were shot at, before officers talked the man into dropping his weapon.

May said Officer Mitchell James, a trained crisis negotiator, was working off-duty security at another job at the time and heard the radio traffic. He went to the scene and using his patrol car as cover, moved in close enough to take over negotiations started by another officer.

During the fray, the man told officers he wanted to talk about religion and he apparently had displayed some signs at a nearby church.

He was taken into custody between 3 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. after officers pinned him down behind some trees near 30th Street and Western Avenue. No injuries were reported.

Comments

It is every day now. Jihadi attacks in America. Every day. This is the third jihadi attack this week. And what does the media consider the problem? Racistislamophobicantimuslimbigots, of course.

I think it is .... poetic that this Alabama Muslim wanted to call attention to Islam by shooting at police. He is right, of course. Such actions best illustrate the violent and true nature of jihad. He would have been richly rewarded in paradise, perhaps 73 virgins instead of 72. But as Spencer points out, "he did not, however, succeed in gaining the space that is guaranteed in Paradise for those who 'kill and are killed' for Allah (Qur'an 9:111)."

“After the man was taken into custody, he reported that he knew he must do something extreme to draw attention to Islam and himself, so he planned to shoot police officers.”

The funny thing about this story is that he was trying to draw attention to Islam by shooting at policemen, but he failed. He won't draw any attention to Islam at all from the people who should be noting such incidents and devising strategies to prevent them. He succeeded in drawing attention to himself, but as he is prosecuted, the motive he stated for his actions will almost certainly be ignored and downplayed, and even if it isn't, its implications will not be explored.

"Man in custody after shootout with police in Alabama City," by Lisa Rogers for the Gadsden Times, January 9 (thanks to D. C. Watson):

A man thought to be an Islamic extremist is believed to have shot the windows out of at least two businesses in Alabama City early Sunday to lure police officers to the area and engage them in a shootout.

Luis Ibarra-Hernandez, 21, from Albertville, was charged today with attempted murder, according to a news release from the Gadsden Police Department.

“After the man was taken into custody, he reported that he knew he must do something extreme to draw attention to Islam and himself, so he planned to shoot police officers,” Gadsden Police Capt. Regina May said.

Gadsden police officers responded to alarm calls for glass breakage after doors were shot out about 1:30 a.m. Sunday at AutoZone and Rainbow Food Mart near the intersection of 27th Street and West Meighan Boulevard.

While investigating the broken doors and determining they were shot out, officers heard gunfire and spotted a man near the old CVS building.

The man knew he had been seen and ran toward the Cathedral of Praise Church parking lot, then started firing rounds at the officers.

The man continued to run through several blocks and at one point was in the Dwight Baptist Church parking lot. Shots were fired over about six blocks, and at least eight officers were shot at, before officers talked the man into dropping his weapon.

May said Officer Mitchell James, a trained crisis negotiator, was working off-duty security at another job at the time and heard the radio traffic. He went to the scene and using his patrol car as cover, moved in close enough to take over negotiations started by another officer.

During the fray, the man told officers he wanted to talk about religion and he apparently had displayed some signs at a nearby church.

He was taken into custody between 3 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. after officers pinned him down behind some trees near 30th Street and Western Avenue. No injuries were reported.